Musical instrument



Nov. 14, 1939.

Z. swANsON MUSICAL INSTRUMENT vFiled sept. 2e, 1938 770/672 Z070.' ZIy/Ze?" fwdizfo/z Patented Nov. 14, 1939 l UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to a musical instrument, and particularly to a closed tube Wind instrument having a iiute-like tone.

The main object of the invention is to provide' the character described capable of producing ac curately pitched notes of the scale, having soft and sweet but sonorous tonal quality. My invention is preferably embodied in instruments made of plastic material molded in a steel die, which avoids the variations and inaccuracies resulting from the use of clay-like materials which are molded while wet and then baked until dry.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a musical instrument embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken in the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the device.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the instrument comprises an elongated hollow body member I0, having a cylindrical portion II and-a tapered portion I2 which terminates in a closed end I3. 'I'he inner surface of the cylindrical portion I I is parallel withA the axis of the body and is cut away to provide an-internal shoulder I4. Said cylindrical portion II is adapted to receive a mouthpiece I5 which has a 'cylindrical portion I E designed to t Within the part II of the body I Il and to have telescopic movement relatively thereto, as indicated by the full and dotted line positions of the mouthpiece in Fig. 2. The air inlet I'I of the mouthpiece is rectangular in cross section and of uniform dimensions. 'Ihe top wall of the mouthpiece, at the inner end of the air inlet Il, is provided with an orifice I8, and the part I9 of said wall adjacent the orifice is beveled and aligned with the upper inner Wall of the inlet Il, whereby the tone and accuracy of pitch of the instrument are enhanced.

The body I0 is provided with a plurality of apertures indicated at 20 to 2l, inclusive, which extend through the body wall, and raised beads 28 surround each of said apertures on the exterior surface of said wall. The beads 28 aid the 'player in finding the openings in the body II). The relative positions of the apertures in the body I0 and their sizes determine the pitches of the sounds produced by air passing through them. The apertures 20 to 23, inclusive, are arranged to be conveniently covered by the fingers of the right hand and the apertures 24 to 21, inclusive, are arranged to be covered by the fingers (excepting the small finger) and thumb of the left hand of the player. An instrument having the eight apertures shown provides a scale of nine notes, which is suflicient for playing by novices, and yet the instrument is not too diicult for the student to manipulate.

In order to increase the compass of the instrument at the` will of the player after he has learned to use the instrument as initially produced, r have provided in the body In two thin wall areas 29 and 30, surrounded externally by beads similar to the beads 28. Said thin areas 29 and 30 are intended to be cut away, whereby two additional apertures will be produced, one to be covered by the small nger of the left hand and the other by the thumb of the right hand. The maximum of ten apertures provides a scale of one and one-half octaves, and the tuning provided by altering the length of the body chamber by means of the movable mouthpiece lowers the pitch and enables the player to tune his instrument to accompany other instruments-ai result not heretofore obtainable in a closed tube instrument.

The tuning device of my invention permits the player to regulate the pitch of the entire instrument, so that the pitch of the scale may be raised or lowered to conform to the scale of some other instrument, such as a piano, which is xedly tuned. Closed tube instruments have had limited usefulness heretofore due to the fact that they could not be tuned to put them in pitch with another fixedly tuned instrument. While some open tube instruments have been provided with tuning means, such means have not been effective to vary the pitch proportionately throughout. the entire range of the instrument. Inopen tube instruments, a sliding mouthpiece will vary the tones produced close to the mouthpiece to a much greater degree than the tones produced in that part of the instrument removed from the mouthpiece. I'have discovered that by CAD a ldabif instrument, E can tary proportionately throughout the range or the enm tire instrument, the variation being such that the true tones of the scale, Whether raised or lowered, are maintained in proper relationship to each other.

\ The dimensions of the members maybe varied Within limits, but it is to be understood that the locations and sizes of the apertures and the air chamber proportions within the device have been carefully correlated to produce properly pitched sounds, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the embodiment shown, the body I0 is 5% in length, internally, and 78" in diameter at and near the section line d-d;

. the internal diameter diminishing to 512i in the region midway between the apertures 22 and 23, with the internal end diameter The apertures 20 to 21, inclusive, produce a scale of notes as they are successively uncovered, and the apertures provided by cutting away the parts 29 and 30 produce the two next higher notes in the scale, following that produced by the aperture 2'1. It will be understood that although the apertures'provided by cutting the parts 29 end 3D are located in the body l!) near or opposite the aperture 23, said apertures prcduce notes -higher in the scale than that produced by the.

musical instrument of the wood type having a tone producing mouth piece and a generally cylindrical body tapered throughout the major portion of its length to a closed outer end, said body providing a closed tone chamber and having a plurality or" tone holes communieating with said chamber and arranged to be covered by the ngers of the hands whereby the lowest or fundamental note of the instrument is produced when all said holes are closed, and said mouth piece having a slidably mounted in said body remote from. closed end to provide an adjustable extension thereorn whereby the length of the tone chamber may be 'varied for changing the pitch of all of the produced notes proportionately throughout the range of the instrument.

2. A musical instrument of the wood wind type having a tone producing mouth piece and a generally cylindrical body tapered throughout the major portion of its length to a closed outer end, said body providing a closed tone chamber and having a plurality of tone holes communicating with said chamber and arranged to be covered by the fingers of the hands whereby the lowest or fundamental note of the instrument is produced when all said holes are closed, said body having frangible wall portions surrounded by mea-ns designating the location, shape and size thereof, said portions being removable from said body' to provide additional tone controlling holes, and said mouth piece having a cylindrical portion slidably mounted in said body remote from its closed end to provide an adjustable extension thereof whereby the length of the tone chamber may be varied for changing the pitch of all of the produced notes proportionately throughout the range of the instrument.

ZIEGNER SWANSON.

cylindrical porti v 

